Wrench.



ANDREW L. WADDELL, OF RECTOR'I'OWN, VIRGINI ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO ALBERT L. MOFFETI, OF PLAINS, VIRGINIA.

WRENCH.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ANDREW L. WADDELL, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Rectortown, in the county of Fauquier and State of Virginia, have 1nvented certain new and useful Improvements in Wrenches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in quick acting or quick adjustable wrenches and the leading object of the .invention 1s the construction of an efficient wrench of,

this type which can be quickly adjusted and which will be positively locked against play and accidental movement.

Another object of the invention is the pro vision of a quick acting or adj ustable wrench with a cam lever mounted to lock the movable wrench jaw and provided with a spring adapted to normally hold the lever in a slot formed in the wrench shank, the spring having a bearing at its free end against the movable jaw and the cam lever being detachable from the movable jaw to provide for adjustable connection, whereby the wear on the cam of the lever can be taken care of. A still further objectof the invention is the provision of a wrench with a quick ad justable jaw and means for effecting a fine adjustment of the jaw arranged to cooper ate with the quick adjusting means.

With the above and other objects in'view the invention embraces certain combinations, constructions and arrangements of parts and elements, clearly described in the following specification and clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved wrench, showing aws with pipe grlpping concave faces and a portion broken away to expose the spring. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 22 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of arrow. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 33 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of arrow. Fig. 4 is an end view looking in the direction of the jaws. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the cam lever and its spring. .Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of the jaws of the wrench and a sectional view of the shank, showing the mounting of the operating screw and the sliding arrangement of the movable jaw and flat nut gripping faces'of the jaws.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 5, 1913.

Patented May 26, 1914. Serial No. 788,286.

Referring to the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, 5 designates the shank of the improved wrench, the opposite sides of which shank are flat. On one end of the shank a jaw 6 is fixed, and said jaw is provided with teeth 6, formed'on its gripping face, near the terminal thereof, and is also provided with a nail lifting claw end 7, whereby the fixed jaw 6 may be used for lifting and removing nails.

On the shank 5 a second jaw 8 is slidably mounted, said jaw 8 being slidably secured on the shank by means of the usual strap 9. The movable jaw 8 is formed with gripping teeth 8, arranged in confronting position to the gripping teeth 6, and also carries a rearwardly extending projection 8 which serves to brace the movable jaw. The shank 5 groove 1O,v which extends from a point contiguous to the fixed jaw 6 through the rear end portion of the shank. The groove 10 is formed with a flat bottom'wall l0 and outwardly diverging side walls 10 The opening 8 in the movable jaw is formed larger than the width of the shank from the lower side to the upper side thereof is formed with a longitudinal and between the side walls of said opening 7 and with upwardlyseated in the groove 10 of said shank the lower rounded face 11"-, which is perpendicular to the vertical axis of the cam, is spaced from the bottom wall 10 of said shank groove, so that the diverging faces of the cam will exert a great pressure upon the shank when force is applied to the lever 12 to move said lever toward the shank. The lever 12 extends rearwardly from the cam 11 and is entirely disposed in the shank groove 10, with the exception of the rear end of said lever, which is outturned to form a finger piece 12, which extends outwardly of the groove so that theuser of the wrench can place a thumb and finger under the projecting finger piece and swing the lever cam on its pivot. so that the cam will move away from the walls of the shank groove.

In order to effectively prevent the movable aw from slipping on the shank when the cam is in looking position, as shown in Fig. 1, the face of the movable jaw which faces the under side of the shank is formed with projections 14, which may be in the form of teeth or incomplete threads. The projections 1a are adapted to cooperate with teeth or threads 15 formed on the member 16, which is located in a longitudinal groove 1'7 formed in the lower side of the shank. The member 16 is preferably a screw which has its forward end 16 journaled in the rear face of the fixed jaw and its rear end 16 j ournaled in the shank 5. The rear end portion of the screw or member 16 is provided with a circumscribing shoulder or enlargement 16 whereby said screw or member may be readily rotated. The screw or member 16 extends through the opening in the movable jaw and presents to the toothed face of said jaw confronting the lower side of the shank a series of teeth or projections which are adapted to mesh or interlock with the teeth or projections 1 1 of said movable jaw. The screw or member 16 is almost entirely inclosed or received in the groove in the lower side of the shank, only a small portion of the screw or member projecting from the groove, and it is this portion which presents the series of teeth 15 to the teeth or projections 14 of the movable jaw.

It is obvious that the screw or member 16 may be permitted to rest in the shank groove unused or that the lever cam may be swung to unlocking position and the screw rotated so as to vary the position of the projecting portion of the screw, or the threads or teeth thereof, thereby effecting a finer adjustment between the movable and fixed jaws than would be possible with a fixed set of teeth for locking the movable jaw against movement.

To quickly adjust the movable jaw the lever is moved to open or unlocking position and the jaw is then moved along the shank to the desired position when the lever is returned to locking position. The engagement of the cam with the walls of the shank groove 10 draws the teeth or projections 14 against the teeth or threads 15, thereby locking the movable jaw against movement. W hen the cam lever is swung to unlocking position the cam is moved away from the diverging walls of the shank groove 10 and the teeth or projections 141 of the movable jaw are permitted to move away from the teeth or threads 15. The movable jaw is adapted to fit closely against the sides of the shank, yet not so closely as to bind, and the cam is adapted to slightly extend the diverging walls 1O away from each other, thereby increasing the friction between the sides of the shank and the movable jaw and consequently rendering the locking action more positive.

The cam 12 is formed with a plurality of pivot openings 12, 12 and 12 which are spaced apart, so that the pivot 13 may be extended through the cam at different places or points. This arrangement is provided to take up the wear on the cam. When one place on the engagingsurface of the cam wears down so as to temporarily render the cam useless the pivotpin is removed and the same is inserted in one of the other openings in the cam, thus bringing into use a new engaging surface on the cam.

Normally the engagement of the cam with the shank is adapted to hold the lever in the shank groove 10, but to positively hold the lever under all conditions in said shank groove a spring 18 is provided, the rear end of which is secured to the lever in any suitable manner and the forward end of which is provided with an S-curved portion 18, one half or the lower curved offset part 18* of which bears against the upper side of the cam 11 and the other or upper curved part 18 of which bears against the upper wall of the opening in the movable jaw.

The shank 5 is provided with a scale 19, which may be located on either side or may be formed in duplicate on the opposite sides of the shank and may be of any type. By manipulating the movable jaw on the shank the thickness or width of any bolt or nut, or other small device, may be ascertained.

The upper end of the movable jaw is disposed on a slightly lower plane than the upper claw end of the fixed jaw, so that the movable jaw will not interfere with the utility of the claw of the fixed jaw.

The rear end of the shank 5 is provided with hand protecting sections 20, which may be of wood or any other material and which are arranged so as tonot obstruct the groove 10 or interfere with the rearward movement of the lever. It will be seen that the movable jaw can be moved against the hand protecting or handle sections 20, so that a very large nut may be gripped between the jaws.

In the drawings I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention and various changes in the location, construction and arrangement of parts can be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described my invention I desire to secure by Letters Patent A wrench comprising a shank having a fixed jaw on one end, a groove in its underside and a second groove in its upper side, a handle on one end of the shank, a rotatable screw disposed in the first groove and journaled at one end to the fixed jaw and at the other to the handle, a movable jaw slidable on the shank, said movable jaw having an opening larger than the width of the shank, the walls of the second groove of the shank diverging outwardly, acam disposed in said opening and pivoted to movable jaw and spaced from the bottom wall of the second groove, and having inclined faces to engage the diverging walls of the second groove, a lever extending from said cam and slidable in said second shank groove, said lever having inclined faces corresponding to the walls of the groove, said movable jaw having teeth to engage the threads of the screw, and a spring secured to the lever at one end and having an S-curved portion on the other end, said curved portion bearing against the movable jaw and the cam to hold said lever seated in the second shank groove, said cam being adapted to spread apart the Walls of the second groove against the movable jaw and to move the teeth of said movable jaw into engagement with the screw.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW L. WADDELL.

Witnesses:

J. A. BEALL, G. F. SMALLWOOD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

